22 states ask court to restore net neutrality

Attorneys general representing 22 states and the District of Columbia asked a federal court to reinstate net neutrality, saying the Federal Communications Commission failed to properly consider the issues when removing the policy in 2017.

The attorneys general of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia participated in the filing.

"Our brief details the many ways in which the FCC failed to heed the voices of millions of Americans who support strong, enforceable net neutrality protections." said Sarah Morris, director of policy at Open Technology Institute.

While the goal of the lawsuit is to have net neutrality reinstated, the states do have a backup request: that the court should allow them to make their own net neutrality rules. Even if the crux of the lawsuit fails and net neutrality remains in place, they ask that the court rule a portion of the FCC's order that bars states from making their own net neutrality laws to be invalid. The commission, they write, "identified no valid authority" that would allow it to block states from making such rules.

A group of internet companies also filed a separate lawsuit on Monday to restore Net neutrality, including Mozilla Corp, Vimeo Inc, Etsy Inc, and numerous media and technology advocacy groups.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has repeatedly said he believes the rules will be upheld and will encourage additional investment by providers. A spokesman for Pai did not immediately comment late Monday.